Calvin Pace talked to ESPN New York's Rich Cimini about how the New York Jets plan on coping with the New England Patriots' no-huddle offense, and said their up-tempo play is "borderline illegal".
The Pats lead the league in total offensive plays with 479. Two weeks ago, they set a franchise record for first downs with 35. This past week, Tom Brady attempted a career-high 58 passes. The team thrives on getting to the line of scrimmage as quickly as possible and moving on to the next play. The Jets' linebacker says the speed with which they operate is testing the edges of what the NFL rulebook allows when it comes to getting set before plays:
"It's borderline illegal because sometimes the guys aren't always set when they snap the ball," Pace said Wednesday. "But it's smart. Why not hurry a team up? I wish we would do it. For a defense, it just puts pressure on you."
Cimini reports that the Jets have been attempting to simulate the offense in practice, but that the team's scout team needs to convene on while assistants give them plays, ruining the simulation. The Jets could be hampered by a tendency to swap out players for different packages defensively, as the hurry-up will capitalize on personnel deficiencies by not allowing their opponent to substitute on a play-by-play basis.